Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite
A tender prison drama follows a five-year-old boy whose friendship with an imprisoned young woman turns a kite into a fragile promise of freedom.
Overview
A poignant tale of innocence and hope amidst despair, where a child's dreams take flight.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- tender
- poignant
- reflective evening
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a landmark of Turkish cinema, praising its poignant humanism, performances, screenplay, and iconic imagery.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Barış's relationship with İnci turns the prison's political and social realities into a child's concrete world of promises, friendship, and confinement.
İnci's promise that the kite will someday fly transforms the kite into a persistent symbol of freedom against the prison walls.
Barış's life with his mother and his bond with İnci unfold within the prison community, where multiple women negotiate authority, affection, and survival.
The drama centers lived confinement, speech restrictions, and relationships rather than spectacle, aligning its prison setting with socially grounded Turkish cinema.
Films like Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite, and why
The Shawshank Redemption
shared prison setting, political repression, humanist drama, and emotional focus on dignity under confinement
The Magdalene Sisters
shared female imprisonment, institutional cruelty, resistance, and compassionate character relationships
The Road to School
shared Turkish social realism, childhood perspective, and poignant attention to marginalized lives
A Twelve-Year Night
shared prison drama, political oppression, intimate character study, and restrained humanism
Movie Details
- Director
- Tunç Başaran
- Release Date
- 1989-04-14
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (78)
Cast
- Nur Sürer
- Ozan Bilen
- Füsun Demirel
- Güzin Özipek
- Güzin Özyağcılar
- Meral Çetinkaya
- Ayla Arslancan
- Ayben Erman
- Emel Çeviren
- Tanju Tuncel
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite about?
- A tender prison drama follows a five-year-old boy whose friendship with an imprisoned young woman turns a kite into a fragile promise of freedom.
- What is Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite as mild.
- What did critics think of Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a landmark of Turkish cinema, praising its poignant humanism, performances, screenplay, and iconic imagery.
- Which films are like Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite?
- Films with a similar feel include The Shawshank Redemption, The Magdalene Sisters, The Road to School, and A Twelve-Year Night.
- How long is Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite?
- Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite?
- In United States, Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite streams on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel.
